A fuel cell is a kind of voltaic cell .

All fuel cells produce

electricity from Hydrogen and Oxygen and generate heat
and water as byproducts . Fuel cells are different than
other batteries because they use an external supply of
fuel.

Fuel cell generators are reviewed from the viewpoint of systems,

markets,emissions, and cost-reduction. Their most attractive
features are likely to be their unobtrusiveness, which includes
very low emissions, combined with their availability in small
sizes, allowing cogeneration at the widest range of sites.
Unattended operation and very high availability will result in
low O&M costs. System designs require rethinking with a view
to cost reduction, to make them more attractive compared with
competing technologies. This is being pursued by developers.
The fuel cell promises to be an important energy conversion
technology, which will help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
in the next century. This review covers progress in the
phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), molten carbonate fuel cell
(MCFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technologies for
stationary applications.

Fuel Cell : Advantages over ICE

  Fuel cells are silent as there are no moving part and
hence long lasting and highly reliable.
 No undesirable products like SOx, NOx and
particulate emissions are virtually zero.
 Fuel cells are not subject to the Carnot efficiency
limit. If there is no ‘irreversibility’ the efficiency
could be 100%.
Fuel Cell Component

Introduction to Fuel Cell technology - Overview

 Fuel cell is a device that takes fuel as input and produces electricity as output
 Converts chemical energy of raw materials into electrical energy
 Different from battery - A fuel cell will keep on producing electricity as long as
fuel is available
 Similar to a chemical factory which transforms raw material(fuel) into final
product (electricity)
 General concept of a H2-O2 fuel cell
A simple fuel cell

 Electrochemical half reactions of a H2-O2 fuel cell:


 Electrons transferred from the fuel travel through the external circuit (thus
constituting an electric current) and do useful work before they complete the
reaction
 Spatial separation achieved by an electrolyte, a material which allows ions to
flow but not electrons

Fig: A simple fuel cell with platinum electrodes dipped in sulphuric acid ( an
aqueous acidic electrolyte)

Basic fuel cell operations

 1. Reactant transport
2. Electrochemical reaction
3. (a)Ionic and (b) electronic conduction
4. Product removal

Advantages

 More efficient than combustion engines – directly convert chemical energy to

electrical energy
 Mechanically ideal – no moving parts , good reliability, long lasting systems
 Clean and silent operation
 Easy independent scaling between power (determined by fuel cell size) and
capacity (determined by fuel availability)

Disadvantages

 Cost – a major issue

 Fuel availability and storage
 Durability under stop-start cycles
 Low volumetric power densities as compared to batteries and combustion
engines

FUEL CELL MODELING

Need Of modeling

 A virtual prototypes of fuel cell, which helps in

fabrication
 Insight into the electrochemistry of the fuel cell &
processes that takes place in the heart of the fuel cell
 Optimize the design parameters of fuel cell system

A combination of modeling and experimentation can

reduce the cost and accelerate the pace of building and
understanding prototype systems[1]. This will further help
in commercialization of fuel cell.

Role of modeling in fuel cell development process [2]

 Figure 1: Flow chart of fuel cell development process

Characteristics of a good model [2]

A good model should balances,

 Robustness: model should able to predict fuel cell

performance under a large range of operating
conditions and physical parameters.
 Accuracy: it can be developed by using the correct
 assumptions, correct physical quantities and input
parameters, correct governing equations, and
validation with experimental data.
 Computational efforts: time required for calculation
should be less, but sometimes for accuracy,
computational efficiency is compromised.
Fuel Cell Introduction Fuel cells are hardly a new idea. They
were invented in about 1840, but they are yet to really make
their mark as a power source for electric vehicles. However, this
might be set to change over the next 20 or 30 years. Certainly
most of the major motor companies are spending very large
sums of money developing fuel cell powered vehicles. The basic
principle of the fuel cell is that it uses hydrogen fuel to produce
electricity in a battery-like device to be explained in the next
section. The basic chemical reaction is: (1) The product is thus
water, and energy. Because the types of fuel cell likely to be
used in vehicles work at quite modest temperatures (∼85◦C)
there is no nitrous oxide produced by reactions between the
components of the air used in the cell. A fuel cell vehicle could
thus be described as zero-emission. Furthermore, because they
run off a fairly normal chemical fuel (hydrogen), very
reasonable energies can be stored, and the range of fuel cell
vehicles is potentially quite satisfactory. They thus offer the only
real prospect of a silent zero-emission vehicle with a range and
performance broadly comparable with IC engine vehicles. It is
not surprising then that there have, for many years, been those
who have seen fuel cells as a technology that shows great
promise, and could even make serious inroads into the
domination of the internal combustion engine.
Main issues in the fuel cell There are many problems and
challenges for fuel cells to overcome before they become a
commercial reality as a vehicle power source. The main
problems centre on the following issues.
Cost: Fuel cells are currently far more expensive than IC
engines, and even hybrid IC/electric systems.
Water management: It is not at all self-evident why water
management should be such an important and difficult issue
with automotive fuel cells.
Cooling: The thermal management of fuel cells is actually
rather more difficult than for IC engines.
Hydrogen supply: Hydrogen is the preferred fuel for fuel
cells, but hydrogen is very difficult to store and transport. There
is also the vital question of ‘where does the hydrogen come
from’ these issues are so difficult and important, with so many
rival solutions.

However, there is great hope that these problems can be

overcome, and fuel cells can be the basis of less environmentally
damaging transport

Data for different types of Mobile ion Operating temp. Applications and
fuel cell Fuel cell type notes
Alkaline (AFC) OH− 50–200°C Used in space
vehicles, e.g. Apollo,
Shuttle.
Proton exchange H+ 30-100°C Vehicles and mobile
membrane (PEMFC) applications, and for
lower power CHP
systems
Direct H+ 20-90°C Suitable for portable
methanol(DMFC) electronic systems of
low power, running
 for long times
Phosphoric acid H+ 220°C Large numbers of
(PAFC) 200kW CHP systems
in use
Molten carbonate CO32- 650°C Suitable for medium
(MCFC) to large scale CHP
systems, up to MW
capacity
Solid oxide (SOFC) O2- 500-1000°C Suitable for all sizes
of CHP systems, 2
kW to multi MW

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fuel Cell

Systems

The following listings summarize the most important

features of fuel cells in comparison to other
energy conversion devices:
Advantages
(1) Savings in fossil fuels due to the high efficiency
of energy conversion (see Figure 5)
(2) Savings in fossil fuels due to the good part load
characteristics
(3) Low pollution level, no noxious exhaust gases
formed
(4) Production of water of drinking quality in
hydrogen-oxygen systems
(5) Only a small number of moving parts (pumps,
fans, blowers)
(6) Low noise level (replacing motorgenerators!)
(7) Low maintenance, exchangeable parts (massproduced
components.
(8) Fast start-up time of low-temperature systems
(9) The regenerative hydrogen-oxygen system, an
energy storage system for space application
(10) Ability to use low-cost fuels with hightemperature
systems
(11) Increased efficiency with the cogeneration of
heat with high-temperature systems
Disadvantages (at the present state of technology)
(1) The high initial cost of the system (catalysts,
membranes, accessories)
(2) Large weight and volume of gas—fuel storage
systems
(3) Approximately 30% of the stored energy needed
for liquefication of hydrogen
(4) High price of clean hydrogen (presently not
competitive)
(5) Present lack of infrastructure to distribute
hydrogen
(6) Estimated, but not accurately known, lifetimes
of the cells (40000 hours for acidic, 10000 hours for
alkaline cells?)
(7) Electrode degradation and the need of nearly
complete carbon dioxide removal from the hydrogen
fuels and the air in existing versions of the alkaline
cells
(8) Pilot production of the direct oxidation of
hydrocarbons just beginning after 30 years of research
It is expected that further research and development
work will remove some of the disadvantages.
Large progress has been made with cost reduction
concerning catalysts by using smaller amounts at a
high utilization rate. The production of fuel cell
components will follow known mass-production techniques.
The improvement of carbon materials as
catalyst substrates and construction parts is one of
the most promising ways of increasing life expectancy
of low- and medium-temperature cells. New discoveries
in metal hydride manufacturing and hydrogen
liquefication methods have been made. Other developments
which use sponge iron in a cyclic operation
could make a breakthrough in the usage of synthesis
gases for fuel cells.36 Pressure cylinders have decreased
in weight by 50% within the last 15 years.
Alcohols and ammonia appear to be promising as
hydrogen carriers; fuel reformer units are getting
smaller and more efficient. The low-temperature
direct hydrocarbon fuel cells need a breakthrough in
catalyst technology in order to become a technical
reality.

The structure of the electrode is porous so that both the

electrolyte from one side and the gas from the other can
penetrate it. This is to give the maximum possible contact
between the electrode, the electrolyte, and the gas.

today, the
efficiency of the fuel cell system for passenger cars is
around 40% (in the future maybe 50%) compared to 25–
30% for the gasoline/diesel powered internal combustion
engine under real driving conditions. Fuel cell systems
have
a higher efficiency at partial load than full load which also
suggests their suitability for application in motor vehicles,
which are usually operated at partial load, e.g. during
urban
driving. In addition, the fuel cells exhaust produces zero
emissions when fuelled by hydrogen. Road transport
noise
in urban areas would also be significantly reduced.
Furthermore, fuel cell vehicles could possibly even act as
distributed electricity generators when parked at homes
and
offices and connected to a supplemental fuel supply.
From
this perspective, the use of hydrogen in internal
combustion
engines can only be an interim solution.

CHC: cryogenic hydrogen compressor

Clamping of Stacks
Usually done by use of
􀀀 Thread rods, nuts and washers
􀀀 Tensioning belts
􀀀 Steel casing
Preservation of compression force by
􀀀 springs or cup springs
 How Do Fuel Cells Work?
A single fuel cell consists of an electrolyte sandwiched between
two electrodes, an anode and a cathode. Bipolar plates on either
side of the cell help distribute gases and serve as current
collectors. In a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell,
which is widely regarded as the most promising for light-duty
transportation, hydrogen gas flows through channels to the
anode, where a catalyst causes the hydrogen molecules to
separate into protons and electrons. The membrane allows only
the protons to pass through it. While the protons are conducted
through the membrane to the other side of the cell, the stream of
negatively-charged electrons follows an external circuit to the
cathode. This flow of electrons is electricity that can be used to
do work, such as power a motor.
On the other side of the cell, oxygen gas, typically drawn from
the outside air, flows through channels to the cathode. When the
electrons return from doing work, they react with oxygen and
the hydrogen protons (which have moved through the
membrane) at the cathode to form water. This union is an
exothermic reaction, generating heat that can be used outside the
fuel cell.
The power produced by a fuel cell depends on several factors,
including the fuel cell type, size, temperature at which it
operates, and pressure at which gases are supplied. A single fuel
cell produces approximately 1 volt or less — barely enough
electricity for even the smallest applications. To increase the
amount of electricity generated, individual fuel cells are
combined in series to form a stack. (The term “fuel cell” is often
used to refer to the entire stack, as well as to the individual cell.)
Depending on the application, a fuel cell stack may contain only
a few or as many as hundreds of individual cells layered
together. This “scalability” makes fuel cells ideal for a wide
variety of applications, from laptop computers (50-100 Watts) to
homes (1-5kW), vehicles (50-125 kW), and central power
generation (1-200 MW or more).

. The fuel (direct H2 or reformed H2) undergoes oxidation at

anode and
releases electrons.
2. These electrons flow through the external circuit to the
cathode.
3. At cathode, oxidant (O2 from air) gets reduced.
4. The electrons produce electricity while passing through the
external circuit

The materials used for different parts of the fuel

cells differ by type. The bipolar plates may be made of
different types of materials, such as, metal, coated metal,
graphite, flexible graphite, C–C composite, carbon–
polymer composites etc.

Anode & Cathode :Materials which have high electron

conductivity & zero proton conductivity in the form of porous
catalyst (porous catalyst or carbon). The structure of the
electrode is porous so that both the electrolyte from one side and
the gas from the other can penetrate it. This is to give the
maximum possible contact between the electrode, the
electrolyte, and the gas.
Anode
• Negative post of the fuel cell.
• Conducts the electrons that are freed from the hydrogen
molecules so that
they can be used in an external circuit.
• Etched channels disperse hydrogen gas over the surface of
catalyst.
• Cathode
• Positive post of the fuel cell
• Etched channels distribute oxygen to the surface of the
catalyst.
• Conducts electrons back from the external circuit to the
catalyst
• Recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.
Electrolyte: The electrolyte is the proton exchange membrane.
This specially treated material, which looks something like
ordinary kitchen plastic wrap, only conducts positively charged
ions. The membrane blocks electrons. High proton conductivity
& zero electron conductivity.
Catalyst: The catalyst is a special material that facilitates the
reaction of oxygen and hydrogen. It is usually made of platinum
powder very thinly coated onto carbon paper or cloth. The
catalyst is rough and porous so that the maximum surface area
of the platinum can be exposed to the hydrogen or oxygen. The
platinum-coated side of the catalyst faces the PEM.

Fuel cell stacks consist of individual cells that are joined by

electrical interconnect plates, and operate in the temperature
range of 700–1000 oC.
Sputtering material improve the performance of fuel
cell. The production of dispersed metal catalysts
particles of the correct size, structure, bulk, and
surface composition for effective

Sputtering is a technique used to deposit thin films of a material

onto a surface "substrate" By first creating a gaseous plasma
and then accelerating the ions from this plasma into some source
material (a.k.a. "target").

A current collector is a plate attached to a flow field plate or bipolar

plate to collect the current generated by fuel cell reactions.

A current collector is a plate attached to a flow field plate or bipolar

plate to collect the current generated by fuel cell reactions.
Sometimes, metal flow field plates/bipolar plates can also serve
as current collectors in a single PEM fuel cell or a stack. The electrons
generated by the HOR at the anode must be conducted through the
anodic electrode and current collector and must then travel through an
external circuit and enter the cell via the cathode current collectorand
electrode. The material used for the current collector should have a
good electronic conductivity, strong electrochemical and mechanical
stability, low cost, and a light weight to reduce the weight of the fuel
cell stack. Typical materials include copper, stainless steel, titanium,
and aluminum. To increase their electronic conductivity, their surfaces
are usually coated by another metal (e.g. gold-coated copper and
gold-coated aluminum). Copper and stainless steel are inexpensive,
robust, and easy to fabricate. However, they are also dense and
heavy, which decreases the mass specific power density of a fuel cell
stack. Exfoliated graphite has been explored as a nonmetallic current
collector in PEM fuel cells [77]; this material exhibited good
performance, but it is not mechanically robust, so a stack constructed
from exfoliated graphite must be protected

Bipolar Plates
The bipolar plates are termed “bipolar” because they have
flow fields on both sides. a fuel cell with a single cell,
there are no bipolar plates because there is only one
MEA. However, in fuel cells with more than one cell, there
is usually at least one bipolar plate. Bipolar plates perform
several roles simultaneously in fuel cells. Bipolar plates
have reactant flow channels on both sides, forming the
anode and cathode compartments of the unit cells on the
opposing sides of the bipolar plate. They not only
distribute fuel and oxidant within the cell, but they also
separate the individual cells in the stack, collect the
current, carry water away from each cell, humidify gases,
and keep the cells cool. To simultaneously perform these
functions -- specific plate materials and designs are
needed.
A Bipolar plate is a multi-functional component
within the PEM fuel cell stack. It connects and
separates the individual fuel cells in series to form a
fuel cell stack with required voltage, aids uniform
distribution of fuel gas and oxygen over the whole
active surface area of the membrane-electrode
assemblies (MEA), conducts electrical current from
the anode of one cell to the cathode of the next,
facilitates water management within the cell,
supports thin membrane and electrodes and
clamping forces for the stack assembly, among other
things.
Essentially the bipolar plates are the electrically-
conducting plates which join together the anode of
one cell to the cathode of another.

Catalyst
Platinum and Platinum Ruthenium Alloy, the most
effective catalysts for oxidation and reduction
reactions, when dispersed evenly in carbon powder,
increase reactive surface area significantly and
provide an ideal catalyst for many electrochemical
processes.
Fuel cells create power by oxidizing hydrogen atoms
into protons and electrons on the anode electrode
and reduced oxygen atoms with protons on the
cathode electrode. Generally, in a Polymer
Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), Platinum
is used as the catalyst.
A Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) requires the
addition of Ruthenium as a catalyst. It is used to
promote the oxidation and redirection reactions.

Plates
Each individual MEA produces less than 1 V under typical
operating conditions, but most applications require higher
voltages. Therefore, multiple MEAs are usually connected
in series by stacking them on top of each other to provide
a usable output voltage. Each cell in the stack is
sandwiched between two bipolar plates to separate it from
neighboring cells. These plates, which may be made of
metal, carbon, or composites, provide electrical
conduction between cells, as well as providing physical
strength to the stack. The surfaces of the plates typically
contain a “flow field,” which is a set of channels machined
or stamped into the plate to allow gases to flow over the
MEA. Additional channels inside each plate may be used
to circulate a liquid coolant.
The picture to the right shows four different types of
serpentine flow channels in graphite plates: (A) a single
serpentine channel; (B) double serpentine flow
channels; (C) four serpentine flow channels; and (D) a
symmetric arrangement of four serpentine flow channels.

End Plates
The traditional fuel cell stack is designed with surfaces
(bipolar and end plates) that are parallel to one another
with a high degree of precision. The end plate must be
mechanically sturdy enough to support the fuel cell stack,
and be able to uniformly distribute the compression forces
to all of the major surfaces of each fuel cell of the fuel cell
stack. In fuel cell stacks containing a large number of fuel
cells, the tolerance accumulation can result in substantial
non-parallelism at the terminal end cells of the fuel cell
stack. The material selection is wide-ranging for small,
low-temperature stacks, but the larger the stack becomes,
the more important it is to uniformly transmit the
compressive forces to the major surfaces of the end cells
of the fuel cell stack. Some fuel cell stacks are designed
with the last bipolar plate doubling as the end plate (flow
fields on one side, and smooth on the other side), while
other stacks use a separate plate next to the last bipolar
plate as the end plate. Obviously, the material selection for
the flow-field/end-plate combination is limited compared to
having separate bipolar and end plates. Some
considerations when selecting the appropriate end plate
material are:
• High compressive strength
• Vibration and shock resistance
• Stability over the required temperature range
• Low-cost
• Mechanical stability (providing support for the stack)
The following materials are commonly used as end-plate
materials in fuel cells:
• Graphite
• Stainless steel
• Aluminum
• Titanium
• Nickel
• Metal foams
• PVC
• Polycarbonate
• Polyethylene
• Various other polymers
Gaskets and Spacers
Gas leaks can potentially lead to unused reactant and
reduced fuel cell performance. Gas tightness can be
improved by increasing stack compression and by finding
a better gasket material. Many types of gasket materials
can be used in fuel cell stacks. Some of the
considerations when selecting the appropriate material
should be:
• Long-term chemical stability
• Prevent mixing of fuel and oxidant
• Prevent mixing the reactants with the environment
• Vibration and shock resistance
• Electrical insulation between components
• Minimal mechanical and thermal mismatch stresses
• Stability over the required temperature range
• Low-cost
• Excellent sealing capability
• Able to be produced using low-cost stack
manufacturing methods
• Prevent mechanical bonding of components (for
certain fuel cell types)
These requirements are often tough to meet
simultaneously and are often much more of a challenge
for high-temperature fuel cells. Some commonly used
gasket materials for low- temperature fuel cells
include silicon, EPDM rubber, and PTFE. Gasket
materials for higher temperature fuel cells are more of a
challenge because it is more difficult to seal ceramic
components to prevent gas leakage.
Channel width and rib width
The performance of the cell is degraded as the width
of the channel is increased from 0.5 mm to 2 mm.
Also the performance of the cell is lowered as the
width of the rib is increased.

The Model
A 3 dimensional model [8] of a PEM fuel cell is
implemented
using COMSOL Multiphysics. The present model is
established
based on the following assumptions:
1. Flow is laminar everywhere due to small gas pressure
gradient.
2. Reactant gases behave as the ideal gas mixture.
3. The electrodes and membrane are made of
homogeneous
materials.
4. The temperature distribution across the cell is uniform.
5. Water exists only in the gas phase in the fuel cell.
6. The polymer electrolyte membrane is impermeable to
reactant gases.
7. Protons can only transport through the electrolyte, and
electrons through the solid phase.
8. Three species including oxygen, water and nitrogen are
considered on the cathode side while only hydrogen and
water are considered on the anode side.
9. The fuel cell is operating at the steady state.
The following are the operating conditions of the model.
• Cell length (L) 20 mm
• Channel height 1 mm
• Channel width 0.7mm
• Rib width 1 mm
• GDL width 0.3 mm
• Porous electrode thickness 0.5 mm
• Membrane thickness 0.05 mm
• GDL Porosity 0.4
• GDL electric conductivity 1000 S/m
• Inlet H2 mass fraction (anode) 0.743
• Inlet H2O mass fraction (cathode) 0.023
• Inlet oxygen mass fraction (cathode) 0.228
• Anode inlet flow velocity 0.2m/s

The main function is to serve as the basis structure to

assemble the fuel cell. Bases also serve as
accommodation for the heaters, which are responsible for
maintaining the cell proper operating temperature
(between 30 and 100 ºC).
The bases were built in aluminum designed 6061. This
type of aluminum is characterized by good mechanical
strength and corrosion resistance for machining.
The collector plates are responsible for conducting the
generated electrons in the fuel cell to conduce to the
charge. The plates were designed constructed of copper.
They were then coated with a layer of gold and nickel with
the aim of improving its electrical conductivity.